recommend me a good jazz box for about £500

[tele jazz]

seems there are a lot of guitars in this range. ibanez, epiphone, eastman,etc

anyone got any recommendations?

[pingu]

ibanez af75 , ak 80

[FatJeff]

Samick JZ4

Better Guitar - Review of the Samick LaSalle JZ 4 electric jazz guitar.

[tele jazz]

i have seen the ibanez joe pass, but i think they stopped making it and the second hand ones i have found are overpriced (£1000)

[pierre richard]

hey guys.....

I have a 1977 Ibanez 2355...play it everyday....would buy another if I needed one...

I play it in my jazz guitar trio through a polytone mini brute...

time on the instrument...pierre

[caravan]

Are you going to play in your living room or on stage?
I suggest trying to save up a little more money. 700 British pounds = $1146 US. You can find a nice Eastman in this price range.

I don't have feedback issues even though one of my jazz guitars is more like an acoustic guitar and has both a pickup plus mic with it. I simply place my amp about 8 feet to my left side... not in front of me!

I don't agree with some of the responses, although the Ibanez Artcores have 5 plys and overly-hefty bracing. Here's what the inside of an AF85 looks like...

[chasgrav]

This is one of the truly silly threads.

The answer to this question is not a specific make or model. It's the advice to try as many guitars as are available to be tried, consider what sound you'd like to achieve, as well as your budget, then buy the instrument that feels right to you.

And remember that setup and technique trump pretty much everything else anyway.

[jazzuki]

New guitars around your price in UK-try Cort-Burny-Peerless-ebay even offers s/h models nearly all inc.hardshell cases.

[Philly112]

I am considering selling my Peerless Manhattan for around £500 including case. It has a Bartolini J5 pickup fitted with tone control, and is in as new condition.
I tried a Peerless Monarch some time ago, liked it, and bought this one 'blind' off ebay a few weeks ago.
But I'm just not comfortable with the 17 inch body. Other than that it's lovely, although it does feedback of course! But sitting down, I just don't feel comfortable with it.
So you can do a stupid thing like me; buy blind!
Seriously, if you are interested let me know; it's a far better guitar than you'll get for £500 new anywhere. I'm going to give it a couple more weeks and see how it feels then.

Phil

[kris]

D'Aspiranta --copy of D'Aquisto is nice jazz box.
Kris

[mambosun]

Originally Posted by Posativek

NOOOOOOO not the samk jz4

i had one,,, was my first guitar,,, sold it after one year,,,

Terrible feedback issues....Im sure jeff is happy but I would never go back to a guitar like that,,,,

They are dinosaurs in a world were many smaller guitars can provide a better sound and have more versatility,,,

Put it this way,,,,everyone ses what a great tone I have with my greco and ibanez,,

everyone complained about my samick because it always fed back,,,plus the yellow colour is really off putting,,,people used to call it 'Le Grand Fromage'

Sorry jeff,,,I hope it wasnt you who bought mine!!!

I might let my Ibanez go for around £700

but it would be hard to part with,,,,,so I couldn't guarantee...depends on the day or how much money I need.

Problem is for the price you wont get a better sound and a vintage piece,,,

I was gonna buy 2 l4's but neither sounded as good,,,damn

Regarding feed back, I think this is a common problem with all types of archtop, not related to Samick JZ4 only.
Regarding color, there's the sunburst option too, but as everyone knows personal tastes...
Dinosaur guitar I agree, but again that's a matter of prorities and taste: L5 types or semi hollow won't carry the same range of plus and minus, the ideal guitar that brings it all has still to be invented.
Regarding sound, well anyone has to test it prior to purchase or it might be disappointed.
I too have a JZ4, and while it's surely far from being the perfect guitar, I'm sure this a serious option to consider in this price range.

• Playability
• Sound
• Build quality
• Fit an finish

[FatJeff]

Originally Posted by Posativek

Yeh I just cant agree,blah blah blah...bad punctuation and spelling....

Maybe you should change your name to Negativek.

[customxke]

Originally Posted by Posativek

Um from experience,,Do not buy artcores,,,

They suck so badly its un true...

I thought that the epi wasnt bad though,,,nice neck,,reasonable balanced sound.

It depends what you want or need,,,

If you want a woody tone then you will need a solid top,,,then you will have feed back issues,,

If you want a good thick Be-bop sound ala Pat martino,, then you will need anything that doesnt feedback (laminate tops) something with probably ply lam not maple,,,

If you want more goerge b, then maybe a smaller lam or maple lam..

maple seems to be a bit brighter,,,
Ply is traditional Gibson es-175 sound,,,

The thing is is a mind field and very tricky with jazz guitars,,,,

A builder told me once,,if your interested in Be-bop then it doesnt matter about the guitar, just get the one you like the feel of and then change the pickups to 57's or super 70's whatever,,,

Through my experience, that isnt really true,,,
I cant find many people getting a good sound for jazz with a solid guitar even though Pat Martino now uses one,,I dont like the sound as much becasue it lacks body...

i know that you want a hollow body 100% that gives you the better sound...

Solid spruce is good but not best,,,If your playing at volume, forget it,,,
It is hard to find one that has a balanced sound becasue they are harder to build and cheaper ones can be awful and unbalanced...

Generally lam ply top hollows Es-175 will get you the sound you want if Be-bop and such is your thing,,,

They dont sound very alive but have the edge over solid bodies...
and if your lucky you can get one that has good wood sound coming through to...without the feedback...

I have a Greco FA-95 (es-175) it has a maple top but I like it because its only two peices laminated so it gives a reasonable woody tone,,although a little glassy,, but doesnt feedback,,,even 3ply lams will feedback,,,,

So my suggestions would be

1..Greco Fa-95,,,Hard to find
2..Ibanez 2355/Fa100
3..I hear the Ibanez joe pass is quite good and cheap,,,

Heres what I dont like

1.Ibanez artcore,,,,,,Thin sound cheap and nasty,,,
2. Eastman,,,looked forward to playing one, when I did the other day was horrified at the playability,,,Plus will feedback
3. Hagstrom
4.Any guitar with a single floating pickup and a laminate big 17 inch body like the aria fa-70,,,they just sound cheap and nasty and feedback like you wouldn't believe,,

In fact to be honest most new budget archtops are pretty crap,,,
Try and find an older jap ibanez or something,,,

I have an Ibanez 2355 for sale but it might be just over your budget..

This is the biggest load of crap I've ever read. My main guitar is a carved spruce top Gibson from 1957, and my number 2 is a laminate Gibson from '56. I'm a cork sniffer, and a vintage snob, but I can get my sound on any of the guitars mentioned here as "no good" or "crap". PositiveK has his opinions, and I won't go into how I feel about the level of his knowledge based on his, in my opinion, inane posts, but his postings of absolutes are just, well, wrong. Right for him mayhap, but not for me, and probably not for the OP as well. He complains about 17" laminated guitars feeding back. Clearly, he has never plugged in a golden age L-5, the guitar of choice for most of his bebob playing heroes of the 50s and 60s. If he had, he'd know that they like to feed back. Use your own hands and your own ears to find your guitars, your tone, your muse and your music. I hate to get in pissing matches on the interwebs, but I feel that this post is so misinformed, nay, uninformed as to be dangerous to someone like the original poster.

[kris]

it is good to buy hand made jazz box...Sadowsky or Benedetto!
Good wood--good sound!!!

[mambosun]

Originally Posted by Posativek

Yeh I just cant agree,

These big 17 inch Samick jz4's and aria Fa-70 etc are not good.

Everyone I know,,,and I went to jazz college and Uni,,,bought and sold there pretty quick....

The trouble is,,they are copies of guitars that were used in the 1930's in big bands,,,,the guitars weren't amplified and needed to big and loud,,,,

Another trick they use with these guitars is to say ''mmm floating pick up means nothing stopping the top from vibrating, like a proper jazz guitar"

Its absolute horse shit,,,,Theses guitars dont even have solid tops, so why they try to tell you about floating pickups is pointless,,,

They sound dead, and they are very big,,,,there is absolutely nothing that makes them practical in todays world,,,,

They sound like shit unplugged and hen you plug them in, no one can here you because your guitar is wailing like a bansheee

Why do you think these guitars sell for peanuts?,,,only when someone who doesnt know much about jazz guitar or is new to it,,went to some website,,,read some idiots saying "how they should get a guitar with a floating pickup, the sound of the top shouldnt be interfered with by cutting holes" etc...
So this new kid buys the biggest traditional archtop he can,,, finds out that the ones 'they' were talking about had solid tops like the Gibson Johnny smith, and what they got is an Aria fa70 or jz4 and sounds like shit unplugged because its one massive piece of lam plywood and then when he goes to a gig he cant play cause it feeds back...
He then quickly sells the guitar saying the exact same bullshit he was told when he bought it.......

There are so many myths about jazz guitars..my fav is the vintage one...

The people you here on record playing in the 50's and 60's did not have 'Vintage' archtops,,because they werent around.
So no,,you dont need a vintage archtop to sound like Wes or Johnny,,you just need more money....

It's really sad to react so negatively, trying to convince everyone your truth is better than mine etc...
Anyway, as someone wisely said one day: "all that is excessive is of little importance"...

[jayx123]

one of my guitars is an Ibanez artcore ag75, This guitar does look cheesy but I went one day to the music shop near my home and saw it there and had a go at it, I couldn't believe the sound on such a cheep guitar with the light gauge it comes with. I tried 3 new ones which sounded like crap so I took that one from the display I changed the pup to classic 57 and put on some 13 flats and I dig the sound. you can listen to the guitar on my myspace all the tunes were played with that guitar. So you can get a good sounding cheep guitar its just luck. you should try the guitars play them and see maybe that exact guitar had a good wood and the factory assembly line was in a super good mood that day.

[jazzbow]

Originally Posted by tele jazz

seems there are a lot of guitars in this range. ibanez, epiphone, eastman,etc

anyone got any recommendations?

£'s eh! You must be a Brit! Me too.
May I recommend Cort/Tanglewood guitars? They are made in Korea and are very well made for their price range.

First up is the Yorktown, spruce top

£399 at this address Google Image Result for http://www.britnett-carver.co.uk/masimpsons/prods/images/483_2.jpg

The next is a Larry Coryell signature model again with a spruce top

This one is euros 360 (seen for $1200 in the states!) Found at this address Guitares jazz d'occasion éléctrique acoustiques manouches Guitare Village

And finally my favourite (I have 2, one in orange with CC pickup and round wound, the other in blue with original H/Bkr and flat wound), J Triggs TR1, they are laminate maple, one H/Bkr and designed by Jim Triggs (Google the name for info). These are a rare find but retail at £280 - £350 s/h. My two were purchased 7 years apart!



This one has been customised, new pickup, tailpiece and tuners. They also come with 2 H/Bkrs and a bigsby which are easier to find!

The necks on these guitars are either slim or can be chunky, the finish is poly but otherwise they are well made instruments. Other than these Korean guitars you can search the net for discounted Peerless guitars. I have seen peerless ES295 copies for around £500 new, These are also excellent guitars with P90 pickups, it'll do early Kenny Burrel, Scotty Moore and drop D tuning for Geordie from Killing Joke. Now that's value for money!!



This one is yours for £499 from this address semi-solid

I've played one of these and IMHO are the dogs mate! Better than a Gibbo ES175 2010 I tried. I would have bought it but I have a semi P90 already.
I hope this helps and let me know what you think.

[tele jazz]

cheers for the help.

like the coryell.

only think about that peerless i don't like is the bigsby.

are there any opinions on the epiphone joe pass?

[jazzbow]

Bigsbys are well cool, sad you don't like em. I 'spose you could swap it. Yeah, the Epi JP is nice, early Koreans are really nice. S/h will be cheapo.
seek and enjoy